Air Deviation Fees by Cruise line

[happy cruzer]

I think air deviation fee policy varies by cruise line just like many things. and often we end up with unpleasant surprises.

 

About two years ago, I had planned a cruise on RCI and luckily the folks on CC explained to me that RCI's air deviation fee was that you pay the fee -at that time- $75 pp and then you get a quote on the new fare difference and you can take the new fare or not but you are still out the air deviation fee either way. One nice thing is if you are platinum (or whatever RCI calls it) you don't pay the air deviation fee. I thought that was a nice detail to know.

 

Recently, I have been working with Oceania Cruise Line and they only charge you the 75pp if you accept the air deviation and you have 48 hours to accept or decline.

 

Does anyone know how the details of how the other lines do air deviation? I find it very helpful to know when I am trying to compare future cruises that I might want to do the air deviation on.

 

Thanks!

[10X]

Not to avoid answering your question, but why pay air deviation fees on top of the airfare when you can just book your own airfare? Over the years (14 cruises) I've found that it's very rare indeed when I cannot beat the cost the airline charges for the airfare alone, let alone their air deviation fees. All it takes is a little work on your part.

[wrp96]

You can price out air deviations on RCCL without having to pay the deviation fee. I've done it before.

 

Also on RCCL the deviation fee is $50 for domestic flights, $75 for international, plus any differences in airfare (if there are any). It is waived one time for platinum C&A and above, but if you make additional changes after the original deviation then you'll have to pay a fee for each change.

[wrp96]

Not to avoid answering your question, but why pay air deviation fees on top of the airfare when you can just book your own airfare? Over the years (14 cruises) I've found that it's very rare indeed when I cannot beat the cost the airline charges for the airfare alone, let alone their air deviation fees. All it takes is a little work on your part.

 

 

It depends on where you live and where you are flying to and the time of year whether or not it is better to book on your own. On 6 of my 8 previous cruises, it has been less expensive to book cruise air, even with paying for the deviation. It's always better to not assume one is cheaper than the other.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks.

 

Wrp96, That's very interesting that you could get RCI to quote without charging the fee. I couldn't and everyone on the boards told me that's the way it is. But they did also tell me that Celebrity cruises counted toward platinum so I did reach platinum. And I was looking at international air.

 

I find that cruise air on open jaw flights are hard to beat. Round trip domestic flights I usually can do on my own. Also I tend to book off season/low cruise rates and sometimes the cruiselines tend to offer good air rates on those cruises to fill them up and then again sometimes they charge more for the air to make their profit on the air vs. the cruise.

 

More info you have the better. I think your point about each change being an air dev fee was a good one.

[wrp96]

Just an FYI, Celebrity cruises do NOT count towards your platinum membership on RCCL. They don't combine credits from the two cruiselines. They do however offer you reciprocal benefits once you've reached Platinum on RCCL or the equivalent on Celebrity.